Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
Introductory
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Van Deelen, Timothy R. 1991. Persea borbonia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/perbor/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
PERBOR
SYNONYMS :
Tamala borbonia (L.) Raf.
Tamala pubescens (Pursh) Small
SCS PLANT CODE :
PEBO
PEBOH
PEBOP
COMMON NAMES :
redbay
silkbay
shorebay
scrub-bay
swampbay
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for redbay is Persea borbonia
(L.) Spreng. (Lauraceae). Morphological variety complicates redbay
taxonomy. Three varieties, also regarded as separate species, are
distinguished based on habitat differences and the morphology of the
hair on the undersides of the leaves:
P. b. var. borbonia - typical variety
P. b. var. humilis (Nash) Kopp [P. humulis Nash] - commonly known as
silkbay; distinguished from the typical variety by especially dense hair
[12]; restricted to the oak (Quercus spp.)-pine (Pinus spp.) scrub of
peninsular Florida [4].
P. b. var. pubescens (Pursh) Little [P. palustris (Raf.) Sarg.] - commonly
known as swampbay; distinguished from the type by crooked hair [13] and
an affinity for swampy areas [12,20].
This review follows Little [29] and Kartesz and Kartesz [22] who favor
three varieties. There are no recognized subspecies or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Tree
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Redbay grows on the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and in peninsular
Florida. Its range extends from southern Deleware to southern Texas.
It also grows in the Bahamas [5,12,20]. It is cultivated in Hawaii
[46].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES41 Wet grasslands
STATES :
AL DE FL GA HI LA MD MS NC SC
TX VA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K080 Marl - everglades
K091 Cypress savanna
K092 Everglades
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
K114 Pocosin
SAF COVER TYPES :
74 Cabbage palmetto
81 Loblolly pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
97 Atlantic white-cedar
98 Pond pine
100 Pondcypress
101 Baldcypress
102 Baldcypress - tupelo
104 Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Redbay is common in pocosins [10,30], forested wetlands [1], mixed
hardwood swamps [38,40], and Mississippi pitcher-plant (Sarrecenia spp.)
bogs [16]. In the drier Big Thicket area of eastern Texas, it sometimes
grows on upland longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas [6,33] and
poorly drained sites where mesic vegetation form localized patches in a
more xeric landscape [41]. Redbay is a principal associate in the
Okefenokee Swamp [8], a dominant in Cumberland Island understories [10],
and common in the Great Dismal Swamp [44] and Big Cypress Swamp [11].
Red bay dominates many everglades tree islands [30,40] and cypress dome
[40] understories. It is occasional in the understories of high
hammocks [2] but a major component in low hammocks. When seen from the
air, southern Florida low hammocks have a characteristic
redbay-dominated tail which extends downstream in the direction of the
everglade's flow [15]. Some southern Florida tree islands are so
dominated by redbay, sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), and loblolly-bay
(Gordonia lasianthus) that they are known as "bayheads" [23].
Overstory associates include red maple (Acer rubrum) [36], cabbage
palmetto (Sabel palmetto) [39], spruce pine (Pinus glabra) [25], slash
pine (P. elliottii) [17], loblolly pine (P. taeda) [3], sand pine (P.
clausa) [4], southern redcedar (Juniperus silicicola), loblolly-bay,
cassena (Ilex cassine), titi (Cyrilla racemiflora) [8], sweetbay, and
Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) [24].
Understory associates include hurrahbush (Lyonia lucida), swamp
fetterbush (Leucothoe racemosa), sweetspire (Itea virginica), poor-man's
soap (Clethra alnifolia), coral greenbriar (Smilax Walteri), and wax
myrtle (Myrica cerifera) [8,23].
Wells [42] cited redbay as a dominant in his classification system of
Coastal Plain community types.
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Redbay wood is heavy, hard, strong, and bright red with thin,
light-colored sapwood. It is used locally for cabinetwork, interior
finishing, and boat building [5].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Wild turkeys and many songbirds eat redbay fruit [5]. The northern
bobwhite eats red bay seeds, especially during the winter [5,27].
White-tailed deer and black bears eat the foliage and fruit of redbay.
Redbay can sustain browsing of up to 40 percent of its current annual
growth [5]. In otherwise pure stands of even-age pine in southern
Alabama, redbay-dominated "stringers" provide essential habitat for
gray squirrels [18].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Lay [28] listed nutrient percentage values of redbay browse collected
in winter as follows:
Protein Fat Fiber N-free Ash Phosphoric Calcium
extract acid
6.98 3.25 29.5 43.1 2.17 0.14 0.31
These levels are low for protein, deficient for phosphoric acid, but
high for calcium [28].
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Redbay seedlings can be used in wetlands and phosphate mine reclamation
[32].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Redbay leaves are a good substitute for those of tropical bay (Persea
spp.), which are used as a food seasoning [5].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
The wildlife habitat value of southern pine plantations can be increased
by allowing redbay to grow along intermittent streams [18].
Redbay is very resistant to insects and fungal disease [30].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Redbay's growth habit varies over its range [5]. It usually grows as a
medium-sized tree, commonly shrubby, up to 45 feet (15 m) tall [13,20].
Occasionally, old trees may reach a d.b.h. of 3 feet (1 m), with a large
crown [20]. In southern Florida hammocks, redbay grows branched and
crooked, seldom achieving tree form [15].
Redbay leaves are alternate, simple, evergreen, and aromatic [13].
Stomatal characteristics suggest adaptation for water conservation [14].
Redbay flowers are perfect, small, cymes [5,12]. Annually produced
fruits are drupes which turn black or blue as they ripen [5].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
The primary mode of regeneration for redbay is sexual. The flowers are
insect- and wind-pollinated. Songbirds, wild turkeys, northern
bobwhites, black bears, and white-tailed deer disperse seeds. Natural
stands of redbay are patchy and diffuse due to overstory competition
[5].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Redbay soils are frequently Histosols consisting of a thick layer of
peat [15,36], a sandy-humis, or an organic muck [36]. When layered over
the Everglades' marl these soils may be basic [15], although throughout
most of redbay's range these soils are acidic [36]. The soils are
infertile [7] and provide poor mechanical support [5].
The climate throughout redbay's range is warm-temperate to subtropical.
The frost-free period is usually greater than 250 days per year and
normal temperatures range from 100 to 10 degrees F (38-minus 12 deg C).
Mean annual rainfall is between 52 and 64 inches (1,020 and 1,630 mm)
and is well distributed seasonally [5].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Redbay is a late-seral species. It is shade tolerant but also grows
well in the open in both young and old stands [5]. Redbay is a climax
associate in Daubenmire's [9] southern magnolia (Magnolia
grandiflora)-live oak (Quercus virginiana) type and dominates swamp
forest [43] and cedar [34] understories in the absence of disturbance.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Redbay flowers between April and May [12], and its fruit ripens during
August and September [38].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
The postfire survival of redbay apparently depends on fire intensity.
After moderate-severity fire which top-kills only small-diameter redbay,
redbay stands persist through sprouting and the survival of large
individuals [7]. Severe fire may eliminate all age classes.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Aromatic leaves and a dense, shrubby growth form [7] favor intense fires
in redbay stands. Most fires probably kill or at least top-kill redbay,
since it appears to survive only moderate-severity fires. Those
individuals that survive fire may experience delayed mortality because
of fire-related scarring and stem deterioration [5].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Redbay should be protected from fire [27] or subjected only to
low-severity prescribed fires [13] where wildlife habitat maintenance is
a goal. Atlantic white-cedar production may benefit from frequent fires
which reduce redbay competition [9,34]. Consult Hough [21] to predict
potential heat release when burning in redbay stands.
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Persea borbonia
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